FROM FIGHTS TO RELIGION

I will take a moment again to say my thanks because at this moment, I feel free and very happy. The work stress I have are merely challenges that I am motivated to overcome. And I feel blessed that I have a great team to work with.

So much has happened for the past weeks and there were so many things I wanted to write about, but was just too exhausted by the end of every day. Still, I feel so satisfied because I love what I am doing everyday. I am really glad I found my fire again. It is slowly warming up.

Here's a summary of my past week:

The Women's Fight

It is safe to say that all the Malaysian MMA fans were super excited about the Ann Osman and Sherilyn Lim's rematch but Ann's hope for a win was crushed when her unprofessional opponent didn't make weight.

I usually love all the fighters but this Sherilyn girl really gets on my nerves. I mean, first of all, if you don't make weight, it shows how disrespectful you are towards your opponent. And you should already be ashamed of yourself enough to apologise profusely to your opponent. However, judging from how Sherilyn behaved behind the scene, I sense that there was not a single ounce of regret in the way she talks or acts. If I can, I will just tell her off but I guess professionally, I can't.

War of Nations
The ONE FC: War of Nations event went on really well. I am just glad that this round, the card has more international fighters. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like to watch Malaysian fighters, I just feel that we should let them fight somewhere else, in other countries. This is so that we can showcase our warriors outside of Malaysia. I am very proud of Saiful "The Vampire" Merican because I feel that of all the local MMA fighters, he is one who has shown the most improvements in terms of transiting from Muaythai to MMA. You can see how he has changed since his first MMA fight till now. Saiful's walkout song was also impressive as he has a local rapper, Waris, doing a live rap that accompanied him out. The song is originally known as "Rembau Most Wanted" but Waris altered the song lyrics for Saiful, changing the song title to "Vampire Most Wanted". All of us were awed by the entire performance! It was brilliant because it also showcased our Malaysian talents in the music industry. Even my PR Director, Loren, a typical New Yorker was impressed with the quality of rap the Malaysian brought to the cage.

Peter Davis, as usual, lighted the fire in the Malaysians' hearts as the entire stadium cheered for his victory during his fight. Great man, Peter Davis. Everyone loves him and I don't blame them - Pete is just awesome. I have said it before, and I'll say it again, Peter is one of the most humble guy I know. Despite his status as a celebrity, he is just down to earth and he gets along with everyone. It is hard not to like Peter - as a model or a fighter.

Sadly, I missed quite a number of fights as I was busy at the registration and also backstage handling media interviews - but judging from the crowd and the feedback I got from the people who attended the event, I think it was a great night with great fights!

Manila

For the first time in my life, I step foot in The Philippines. I have heard so much about the country and how the MMA fans there are crazy (in a good way) supportive. I witnessed for myself and I am really overwhelmed by their enthusiasm for the sport. It is amazing! The fighters are like celebrities and they are all well respected. Personally, I am looking forward to our Malaysian fighter, Gianni Subba's fight against Filipino fighter, Eugene Toquero. It is going to be a great fight!

Sadly I did not have time to venture out and explore the real Manila life as most of the time, I was stuck in the hotel. Nevertheless I saw a lot of things.

On of the most fascinating thing I saw are the dogs. Did you know that everytime you enter a mall or a hotel, you get sniffed? Thank God I overcame my fear of dogs touching me. Yes, I have always liked dogs but I do not like them licking me and was afraid to touch them. But now, I do not have that problem anymore, which reminds me that this is probably one of my biggest achievement of last year - overcoming the fear of dogs licking me.

Positive people

I realised how some people are just so positive and they made me feel so motivated. The things they say push you forward. And so, I could be wrong, but I have start avoiding friends who are negative because I feel like they were never happy for you - they just want you to stay the same, for themselves. I am also grateful for the people who have always believed in me, and for pushing me to the limits because of that.

Buddhism
Yesterday, we invited a reverend to our house to transfer merits to our grandparents. It was a very meaningful and spiritual session for me and I learned so much about Buddhism. I mean, I am not a religious person but I love to explore the different beliefs. The reverend gave us such beautiful advice about life and being human; it is something that really touched my heart and I will forever remember his few words of wisdom.

To gain merit in life can be as easy as feeling good by helping others and be compassionate. This has inspired me to get a lotus tattoo, because the flower symbolises compassionate, love, purity and enlightenment and that is what I want to be.

He also explained the different realms of life, human, Gods, demons, animals and how we can be in different realms because nothing is permanent. You also can't be God forever, it is just that God lives longer lives than Human do, and so to us, it is like eternity. He explained that if we ever fall into the realm of ghosts and demons, it will be hard because in that realm, we suffer endlessly. It is hard to feel good and hence, they end up being stuck in the same realm over and over again. I feel bad for them now. It reminds me of the Supernatural boys who got stuck in hell. Sometimes, it is really not them but the endless suffering that made them angry spirits.

It is so interesting to learn about this things, whether you believe it or not. For me, I do believe in the supernatural and the power of the universe that is beyond our control. I believe that God(s) or prayers will help us if we show effort and if we believe. And that is why, I believe in working hard for things.

With that, I shall end the final week of March at home, chilling in front of my laptop, trying to catch up on my TV series and get some sleep. But I am glad that I managed to get some writing done too.